Hundreds of doctors convicted of serious crimes – including obtaining indecent images of children – have been allowed to continue to practise, it has emerged.

A total of 927 have kept their jobs despite being found guilty of offences including trafficking drugs, kerb crawling and causing death by dangerous driving.

And thousands of patients have been kept in the dark about their doctor’s serious convictions.

It is believed that some of the
medics who have not been struck off the professional register after
being found guilty of downloading child pornography are still treating
minors.

But the General Medical Council says
that it cannot automatically strike off those on the sex offenders’
register in case doing so breaches their human rights

The figures obtained under the
Freedom of Information Act also reveal that none of the physicians’
patients has been informed about their convictions.

It found 25 had been convicted of actual bodily harm and three for grievous bodily harm.

Three doctors were found with indecent images of children, two of causing death by dangerous driving and two of trafficking drugs.

Patients are not being told about the disgraced physicians, surgeons and GPs, who are still working in surgeries and hospitals across the country (file photo)

Another two have convictions for cruelty to children, nine for attacking their partners, five for harassment and two for possessing offensive weapons.

A doctor made threats to kill, another was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and five were guilty of fraud.

A further eight medics were convicted of kerb crawling. Some of them had more than one conviction.

The largest number – 296 – was for drink-driving offences.Some 182 have been convicted of dangerous driving.

Critics yesterday said that patients should be told if their GP or surgeon has been convicted of a serious crime. Roger Gross, of Patient Concern, said: ‘Patients should be made aware if their doctor is found guilty of serious criminal offences that could affect their care and be allowed to make up their own minds if they want to risk being treated by them.

‘The problem is that the GMC is funded by doctors while their prime duty is to protect patients – but these two things often come into conflict.’

Dr Benjamin Obukofe was found guilty by a court last year of sexually assaulting two colleagues, including a girl of 17, at Spire Hospital in Leicestershire.

Suspension: Sudhakar Siriama was allowed to carry on working despite squeezing the breast of a junior member of staff at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham

Although the married father was given a suspended sentence and put on the sex offenders’ register, he was not struck off and will be free to work next year.

The GMC ruled that although his convictions were ‘serious’ they were not deemed to be ‘fundamentally incompatible’ with continuing to practise medicine.

Under the law, doctors have to be examined by the GMC after receiving a caution or conviction.

However, in many cases the watchdog allows them to continue to practise while it issues them with a warning or temporary suspension.

The GMC has no access to the sex offenders’ register and relies upon the police to inform its officials of court sentences.

It said that it looked at applying an automatic ban for medics on the sex offenders’ register, but decided against the move after legal advice said it might breach their human rights.

Individual NHS trusts are free to take their own action against convicted doctors.

Health chiefs at the GMC said they were still looking for a way to impose an automatic ban on sex offenders.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the General Medical Council, said: ‘Our job is to protect patients by ensuring that only doctors who are fit to practise are able to do so.

‘The number of licensed doctors with criminal convictions is extremely small and in the vast majority of cases these are either subject to restrictions on their practice or struck off.’